We had an interesting presentation at the Night Chapter meeting of the Tidewater Quilters Guild last night, “Molas in a New Light,” by Lola McCracken Lola shared her mola collection and gave a short lecture on the Kuna Indigenous people in the San Blas Islands, Panama.
The mola forms part of the traditional costume of a Kuna woman, two mola panels being incorporated as front and back panels in a blouse. Molas are handmade using a reverse applique technique. Several layers (usually two to seven) of different-coloured cloth (usually cotton) are sewn together; the design is then formed by cutting away parts of each layer. The edges of the layers are then turned under and sewn down. Often, the stitches are nearly invisible. This is achieved by using a thread the same color as the layer being sewn, sewing blind stitches, and sewing tiny stitches. The finest molas have extremely fine stitching, made using tiny needles.
The fiber artistry of a mola reflects the traditional oral (non-literate) Kuna culture and represents themes of Kuna life and history. Mola art developed when Kuna women were encouraged to cover their traditionally painted bare upper torso by missionaries who were offended by their toplessness!
- the number of layers
- fineness of the stitching
- evenness and width of cutouts
- addition of details such as zigzag borders, lattice-work or embroidery
- general artistic merit of the design and color combination.
Molas are often sold in pairs, the pair consisting of the back and front panels of a blouse. The two molas are usually two variations on a theme. Matched molas complement each other and should be displayed or used together for the greatest impact.
To appeal to the tourist market, modern molas may represent non-traditional themes, like the caduceus above.
After Lola's talk, we had a demo on reverse applique. Fun!
No comments:
Post a Comment